Sports

ICC encourages member boards to try innovations that’ll improve the game

Published

2 years ago

2024/07/14

Thilina Walpola

Sean Easey, Senior Manager - Umpires and Referees of ICC

by Rex Clementine

Cricket’s global governing body, ICC, is encouraging member boards to try innovations that will improve the game. Sean Easey, Senior Manager – Umpires and Referees of the ICC, says the modification done by BCCI allowing players to review umpiring calls for wides and no balls during the IPL was a decision in the right direction. Furthermore, it could become part of international games in the future.

“I was lucky enough to go to IPL and see how that system worked. Credit to BCCI for trying that out. As an international organization, we rely on boards to do some research and develop things that will help improve match officiating and help the game overall. We need to understand it more first. We need to work with our providers on how the system could be used at a global event. There is definitely scope for us to use technology more and more moving forward,” Easey told Sunday Island in an interview.

Another significant moment in the game was when New Zealand Cricket named Kim Cotton as an umpire in a men’s T-20 match involving New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Dunedin last year. This could happen in ICC events as well moving forward.

“That is definitely part of the plan. Very shortly we are launching a new umpire pathway. We are working very closely with boards to come up with inclusive and clear pathway models. We would love to see female umpires doing men’s games. Hopefully one day female umpires will be doing men’s Test cricket.”

Born in Melbourne, Easey played community cricket in Victoria and functioned in a similar role to the one with ICC with Cricket Australia for 12 years before moving to Dubai in 2023.

The best 20 umpires in the world officiated the recent World Cup in the Caribbean and USA. The umpiring standards have improved significantly in the last ten years or so and there are various aspects to help umpires making accurate decisions. Match Referees keep a close eye on how umpires perform and there are Umpire Coaches as well who play a key role. However, feedback from captains on umpires has reduced somewhat at present.

“Captains do give feedback, but they aren’t as direct as it used to be. One reason is that there is a trend that favourable feedback comes from winning teams while unfavourable feedback is usually from the losing team. It is hard for us to interpret that. The captains are always welcome to give feedback either through the Match Referee, or there is a form that they can fill in and give us,” Easey explained.

Covid made everyone adjust and one of the significant things that happened with umpires and match referees is that officials had got an opportunity to do home games. However, we have now gone back to neutral umpires. Given the accuracy rates of umpires at international games, is there a chance to do away with the concept of neutral umpires?

“It is a very complex question. The international panel of umpires did a wonderful job. They performed well. We have gone back to neutral umpires now. There are several reasons why we think neutral umpires is important. That takes out the accusation of bias from home umpires. That still exists, which is a shame but that’s the reality. The other thing about neutral appointments is that we are able to get the best umpires officiating more often, and in big games.”

So how does the process of getting the best umpires to officiate in a World Cup final or a semi-final or an Ashes contest work?

“It’s not just a case of umpires who made the least number of errors at the event. We have worked through a process during the World Cup where umpires and referees moved through to the Super Eight phase of this event. From 20 umpires we reduced to 16 umpires for the second round. Lots of statistics were looked at. An umpire may have been error free for four months and can make one mistake. That’s not a deal breaker. Another key aspect is we want people who manage games well.”

Most cricketers when they retire opt for commentaries or coaching and umpiring doesn’t seem to be one of the preferred areas post-retirement. Easey wants people to give umpiring a go. “The key message is to be open to it. If you enjoy being part of the game, try and give it a go. People will be pleasantly surprised at the team environment and camaraderie that we have got. Umpiring is the only non-playing role in cricket that keeps you in the game. It is a unique position and you can take a lot of pride in it.

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Sports

Royal to meet St. Joseph’s, St. Peter’s eliminate Cambrians

Published

5 hours ago

2026/07/25

Thilina Walpola

Under 17 Division I Cricket

by Reemus Fernando

A combined bowling effort helped St. Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya beat Prince of Wales College Moratuwa by 55 runs and reach the pre-quarter finals of the Under 17 Division I cricket tournament on Friday.

‎Of all the knockout stage matches played on Friday, the encounter between the Petes and the Cambrians was the match that lasted the longest distance as the home team found batting resistance from number nine batsman.

‎The Cambrians foughtback after slipping to 59 for seven, on the back of a fighting 64 from Kaveesha Kithmina to bow down gracefully.

‎Batting first, St. Peter’s posted 230 for nine thanks to 76 off 113 balls by Sashidu Silva and a brisk 61 from 49 deliveries by Menura Dissanayake.Sandeepa Dananjaya was the pick of the Prince of Wales bowlers with an impressive five-wicket haul for 33 runs.

‎Most of the other knockout matches were one sided contests.

‎Royal College Colombo bundled out Wariyapola Sri Sumangala College, Kandy for a mere 44 runs to record a crushing 269 runs win and secure a pre-quarter final berth against St. Joseph’s College Darley Road.

‎Gagan Gamage (7-1-16-5) and Mahiru Kodituwakku (7-2-18-4) used the home advantage to good effect as they shared nine wickets between them to rattle the opposition within 18 overs. Batting first the Reid Avenue team amassed 313 runs for five wickets with Savain Gamage (53), Dushen Udawela (50) and Manuth Dasanayake (76) scoring half centuries.

‎Maris Stella College, Negombo, Galahitiyawa Central and St. Aloysius’ College, Galle were the other teams to enter the pre-quarter final stage on Friday.

‎St. Aloysius’ College, Galle booked a pre-quarter final berth against St. Sebastian’s College Moratuwa with a crushing seven-wicket victory over Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte.

‎Ananda Sastralaya struggled throughout their innings and were bundled out for 65 runs. Chenuka Dodangoda with a run a ball 27 was the only batsman to make a notable contribution.

‎St. Aloysius’ bowlers shared honours bowling tight spells. Hasitha Dasun produced the standout performance taking four wickets for two runs, while Manindu Pabasara supported well picking up two for seven. Yenul Nethsuka, Chethana Kularathna and Sanuda Imaya picked up a wicket each.

‎In reply, St. Aloysius made light work of the modest target, reaching 67 for 3 in just 9.4 overs. Gimhan Hansaka struck an aggressive 33 off 25 balls with seven fours to lay the foundation for victory.

‎Kavinga Dabare claimed all three wickets for Ananda Sastralaya, finishing with 3 for 9, but his effort could not prevent St. Aloysius’ from sealing the pre-quarter final berth.

‎In the other matches, Maris Stella College, Negombo beat Royal Central Polonnaruwa by five wickets and Galahitiyawa Central beat Taxila Central by six wickets.

Sports

Galle Gallants back to winning ways

Published

5 hours ago

2026/07/25

Thilina Walpola

Sahan Arachchige starred for Galle Gallants

Galle Gallants got back to the winning track after their first loss against Dambulla Sixers on 22 July to make it three wins out of four games as they outclassed Jaffna Kings by 60 runs on Thursday at the Rangiri International Stadium in Dambulla.

After all the five teams have played four games each, Galle Gallants sit atop with six points, while Kaps, Sixers and Kings have four points each. Royals have two points only.

After being asked to bat first, Gallants lost Sam Harper and Charith Asalanka early with 16 runs on the board in three overs. At this point, Chris Lynn and Chamika Karunaratne put on 48 runs with the former dominating the stand as he ended up with a 22-ball 46 before departing.

Gallants slipped to 110-6 in 14.2 overs before their top-scorer Sahan Arachchige and Mohammad Nawaz arrested the collapse with a game-changing 68-run stand off 30 balls. Arachchige hit four fours and three sixes in his 36-ball 63, while Nawaz hit two sixes and as many fours in his 27 off 16 balls.

Vijayakanth Viyaskanth hit a six off the two balls he faced as Gallants posted a strong 193-8 in 20 overs. Dilshan Madushanka and Lizaad Williams picked up two wickets each. Shakib Al Hasan, Dunith Wellalage and Mohammad Shiraz had one wicket each to their name.

In reply, Jaffna Kings’ chase never got going as they were rocked by three wickets each from Tharindu Ratnayake and Eshan Malinga. They slipped to 33-4 with Akif Javed and Dasun Shanaka also sharing a wicket each.

Only Wellalage managed to put up some fight with the bat and it was because of his 39-ball 56 that Jaffna Kings managed to salvage some pride and closed in on the loss margin. Wellalage hit four fours and as many sixes in the lost battle that he waged as Kings went from 99-8 in 12.3 overs to 133 all out with Williams unable to walk out to bat due to injury.

David Wiese was the only other batter to cross the 20-run mark as he scored 22 with the help of three fours. Ratnayake finished with three for 19 in four, Malinga with three for 13 in three, while Viyaskanth also picked up a wicket.

Brief Scores

Galle Gallants won by 60 runs

Galle Gallants: 193/8 in 20 overs

]Sahan Arachchige 63 (36), Chris Lynn 46 (22), Mohammad Nawaz 27 (16); Dilshan Madushanka 2/35 (4), Lizaad Williams 2/37 (4)

Jaffna Kings: 133/9 in 17.5 overs

[Dunith Wellalage 56 (39), David Wiese 22 (20); Eshan Malinga 3/13 (3), Tharindu Ratnayake 3/19 (4)]

Sports

Arachchige, Rathnayake and Malinga pump Jaffna

Published

22 hours ago

2026/07/24

Priyan

A 36 ball 63 by Sahan Arachchige and three wickets each by Eshan Malinga [3-13] and Tharindu Rathnayake [3-19] helped Galle Gallants defeat Jaffna Kings by 60 runs in the 10th match of the Lanka Premier League 2026. Galle Gallants lead the points table with three wins from four outings.

Scores:
Galle Gallants 193/8 in 20 overs [Chris Lynn 46, Sahan Arachchige 63, Dasun Shanaka 12, Dinura Kalupahana 10, Mohammad Nawaz 27; Mohamed Shiraz 1-23, Dunith Wellalage 1-13, Shakib Al Hasan 1-27, Dilshan Madushanaka 2-35, Lizaad Williams 2-37]

Jaffna Kings 133 in 17.5 overs [Kamil Mishara 15, Ibrahim Zadran 11, David Weise 22, Dunith Wellalage 56; Dasun Shanaka 1-21, Tharindu Rathnayake 3-19, Akif Javed 1-22, Eshan Malinga 3-13, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 1-32]